Hello there, Junk Food Nation.  It’s me, Eric, your friendly neighborhood Junk Food Guy.  How are you, this sunny Monday?

Whenever I’m out and meeting new people, the question inevitably comes up, “What do you do?” Here in DC, it’s always the second question out of people’s mouths.  And where my typical answer is to sheepishly answer “attorney” (which in DC is a boring answer, because the ten people I’m talking to are most likely ALL ALSO ATTORNEYS), I’ve taken more and more to answering, “junk food blogger.”

The reaction is priceless – usually a crooked eyebrow, and the same follow up,

Q: “You…you blog about what?”
A: “About junk food.”
Q: “Like…about chips and stuff?”
A: “Uh -huh”
Q: “….that’s what you DO?”
A: “Yep.”

Most people can’t believe that blogging about junk food is real, even after I assure them it is.   Of course, these are the same people, who after a friend says “You should follow him on Twitter @junkfoodguy,” they mutter, “Yeah…I’m not on Twitter.” (WHAT).  The peeps look around nervously to see if a camera is hidden in the cupboards, waiting to catch their reaction.  After that initial moment when I watch them chuckle, swirl their beer, and shift in their shoes a bit, the next question is ALWAYS “So…uh…what’s your favorite junk food?”

And my answer is always, “Well, it depends on what category you’re talking about…ice cream? Chips?” But really I’m thinking, “That’s the best you could come up with?”  But okay, I’ll answer your half-assed-question.  But it’s sort of a hard question, isn’t it?  Only because it’s so open ended.  Asking me what my favorite junk food is, without any parameters, is sort of like asking me what my favorite furniture is.  I mean, what are we talking about here? To sit on? To sleep on? To look at?  (Though I’m pretty sure my answer to all three is GIGANTIC OTTOMAN.  Those things are so cool).

Anyways, my favorite junk food.  To me, it’s like asking me to pick a favorite child. I mean, the classic Nacho Cheese Doritoes and Cheetos will always have a go-to-place in my heart.  Talenti Gelato and Turkey Hill always makes me stop in the freezer section.  I sometimes dream about In-N-Out Burger, and I could eat buffalo wings breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  And Chicken in a Biskit crackers remind me of childhood.

So it’s a tough question for me, who takes junk food more seriously (but not really) than most people I know.  I never have a good answer.  But, let me flip the script, Junk Food Nation – what is YOUR favorite junk food? Tell me in the comments below!

Today’s junk food: Limited Edition Banana Split Oreo!

I first heard about Limited Edition Banana Split Oreo from a Twitter friend, King Rhino.  HOLY CRAP I shouted in my head.  Oreo had tried Banana Split Creme Oreos back in the day (2008), as reviewed by fellow blogger The impulsive Buy.  Back then, these were just the regular chocolate Oreo, with banana filling.  But these new Limited Edition Banana Split Oreos…these were different.

For one, these Limited Edition Banana Split Oreos are not JUST chocolate cookie, but they also have a Golden Oreo cookie.  It’s one and one.  Plus, these Oreos contain both strawberry and banana creme, which makes it one of the more ingenious cookie designs I’ve seen in a while.  I mean, this sh*t is CRAZY. Two cookies, two cremes??  What’s next, space travel???

Limited Edition Banana Split Oreos don’t have any real bits of strawberry, or banana, in here.  Just “natural and artificial flavor.”  Well, at least there’s no false notion of what this is…this is just a purely man-made-constructed flavor, from ground up.

When I peeled back the cover to these Limited Edition Banana Split Oreos, an immediate banana smell spilled out…definitely artificial smelling.  But still, for anyone who likes banana candy, an appealing smell.  As I sniffed closer, I did detect hints of the more acidic-strawberry-aroma.  Both were present.

But MAN these are sort of an eyesore, no?  I feel like staring at them will make me cross eyed.

As you can see, these Limited Edition Banana Split Oreos look as described on the package – two different cookies, two blends of creme…

Limited Edition Banana Split Oreos have yellow creme (banana) and pink/red creme (strawberry).

Trying the cremes separately before biting the cookie, the banana creme reminded me of banana flavored Runts candy – very sweet, very banana-y, and definitely not natural tasting.  Still, for a banana lover like me, it reminded me basically of the same type of banana flavor you get from banana candy or banana Taffy (like Now and Laters).

The Strawberry creme was more subtle, and had sort of a vitamin-y taste to it… it wasn’t super sweet like the banana but had a sort of muted strawberry taste.  I say it’s sort of vitamin-y in that when you chew on a Flintstones vitamin, most of the time you’re like, “Wow this tastes like a whole lotta nothing plus a little bit of fruit flavor.”  That’s what this was like.

All together, these Limited Edition Banana Split Oreos were pretty good, IMO.  I know I kinda killed all the ingredients separately, but together, I found that these…WORKED.  The strawberry and banana mixed really well, and sort of balanced each other out without drowning the other.  The chocolate cookie helped tame some of the sweetness, and added a good cocoa kick to the overall flavor. The Golden Oreo helped provide a nice sugar cookie smoothness to everything.

Did it taste like a banana split?  Well, to be honest, I haven’t had a banana split in over a decade.  But, in my head, I can imagine this flavor was close, for sure.  The chocolate-strawberry-banana mixture was great, and when I smacked my lips afterwards to get the aftertaste, I could still taste everything pretty evenly.

So, I’m not 100% sure these were banana-split-ish, but I liked these a lot.  Definitely on the more artificial-tasting side of things…but I appreciate Oreo’s creativity!  If you can find these,  I think you’ll find them interesting.  I’m actually excited to dip these in some Turkey Hill Vanilla Ice Cream!

PURCHASED AT: Giant Food Grocery

COST: $3.00 on sale

Thoughts? Please comment below or hit me up on Twitter @junkfoodguy or LIKE my Facebook Page and message me there. Also, you can always email me at junkfoodguy@junkfoodguy.com. Let’s do this.

Sincerely,

Junk Food Guy